Chapter 6, Hope Shoemaker:
The new recruits were led into the pool of blood by two of her guards possessed by the demonkind. She preferred the term recruits, even if they were drafted, forced into the service of their ruler. They had no choice in the decision. It was made for them, and soon they would lose their souls.
Hope didn’t remember the demon guards’ names. She couldn’t be bothered to know the men that protected her and all the court when they were mortal. Why should she change her ways simply because they now housed one of Giblet’s comrades? They were a means to an end, as far as Hope was concerned, interchangeable and expendable. It was easy to make new ones, after all.
Hope needed to concentrate, or the bonding would fail, and the two in the blood pool would die. Her spell wou
